Kent State University
7-7, 1-1MAC
University at Buffalo
13-2, 1-1MAC
Reikow Records Career-High 15 Kills in 3-1 Loss to Buffalo
9/28/2013 11:23:00โฏPM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. โ For the first time this season, Kent State lost a volleyball match after taking the first set. The Golden Flashes were defeated by Buffalo, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 24-26, 20-25), to close out the opening weekend of Mid-America Conference play Saturday night at Alumni Arena.
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"We started off strong and did some pretty good things offensively and stuck with the game plan," head coach Don Gromala said. "As the game went on, they wore us down and we became a little inconsistent."
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The Golden Flashes (7-7, 1-1) received strong in the middle once again from Liz Reikow. One night after matching her career-high with 13 kills against rival Akron, the 6-6 junior topped that with 15 kills and a .583 attack percentage.
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"Liz did a great job tonight on offense," Gromala said. "She worked really hard to make herself available in transition and took care of her business when she had opportunities."
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Kent State won its fifth opening set of the season, but was unable to turn its early lead into a victory for the first time. The Flashes' hitters came out on fire, totaling 18 kills and a .395 attack percentage on the way to a 25-20 victory.
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The next two sets were about as evenly-played as possible, but the Bulls came away with two-point victories in both to seize momentum. Each set featured 17 ties as the squads exchanged leads seven times combined. Kent State's attack cooled, hitting just .238 in the second set and then .151 in the third.
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"They made some defensive adjustments," Gromala said. "Our hitters kept swinging hard, but they were able to get some stops. When they had 1-on1 opportunities, they scored. And when we had 1-on-1 opportunities, we hit something that they dug and they brought back at us. We needed to get a couple more touches at the net from our blocks, and that was the difference in sets two and three.
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The Flashes appeared in prime position for a comeback in the fourth set, as they held an 18-16 advantage. Buffalo rallied to take the next six point, however, and the Flashes were unable to recover in losing the set
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Sophomore Kelly Hutchison also had a strong performance, leading the Flashes with 17 kills while hitting .410. Freshman Bianca Cifaldi and Junior Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola were also in double-digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively. Senior Aleksandra Nowak recorded her fourth double-double of the season 56 assists and 14 digs. Defensively, the Flashes were led by 29 digs from senior libero Hannah Herc. Junior Kaylee Koller contributed 15 digs.
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Kent State does not get rest as it concludes it non-conference schedule with a weekday trip to Youngstown State on Tuesday.
